Chapter 228 - Illusion

Hilderan was filled with death.

Five cities had fallen, utterly destroyed. The ravaged land had become a place where nothing could live. The demonic energy seeping into it rejected the living creatures of Arain.

And death spread to the next city.

“Fucking bastards! How long are they going to keep coming?”

They had killed countless demonic creatures. Yet still more came pouring in.

It was like a wave, a nightmare that seemed as though it would never end.

ROOOOAR!

An ogre hurled an enormous boulder. The gate shattered with a crash.

It was like a wave, a nightmare that seemed as though it would never end.

ROOOOAR!

An ogre hurled an enormous boulder. The gate shattered with a crash.

“The gate's been breached!”

“Stop them!”

“Knights!”

The knights waiting in reserve raised their shields.

CRASH!

An ogre charged like an enraged bull and slammed into them. The shield formation buckled.

A minotaur rammed its horns into them from behind it.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Hold! Maintain formation!”

Several knights were sent flying in a spray of blood. Those behind them immediately filled the gaps. But these were not the only monsters.

The demonic creatures that had charged through the bombardment of mana cannons, arrows, and spells grew even more savage at the scent of human blood. Surrendering to instinct, they bared their murderous intent.

CRASH!

Against hordes numbering in the tens, hundreds, and thousands, aura dulled and armor shattered. One by one, the knights fell to their knees.

“Prepare to retreat! We're abandoning the fortress!”

Count Pagan gave the order with a grim expression. The civilians had all evacuated long ago. Only soldiers remained, following orders to inflict as much damage as possible on the demonic creatures.

But with the gate destroyed, even that had reached its limit. The fortified cities near Lake Grasical had never been built with an enemy invasion in mind, leaving them inevitably vulnerable.

“We'll withdraw to Ain Castle.”

They would join the troops there and hold out once more.

“Is there any hope in doing this?”

He gave a self-mocking laugh. He knew this was the best course for Hilderan, but there were simply too many enemies.

They killed and killed, killed again and again. No matter how many they killed...

“Their numbers never go down.”

The north was slowly being razed. The embers of hope were dying little by little.

They had requested aid from other countries, but the kingdoms bordering the lake were reluctant to act, fearing that the wave would come crashing toward them next.

“Damn those imperial bastards.”

Akan, Iasin, and the neighboring kingdoms feared an invasion by the Empire.

And so Hilderan was left isolated.

“Why did it have to be Hilderan?”

It happened then.

BOOOOM!

An impact like an earthquake sent the count tumbling across the floor. Clouds of dust obscured his vision.

“W-what happened?”

“D-demons! An enormous titan has broken through the wall!”

“What?”

The wall had been broken?

“... Fucking hell.”

The count gave a hollow laugh. The wall really had been destroyed. And that wasn't all. A titan taller than the ten-meter wall was pounding its chest and roaring.

“... My lord.”

“We retreat immediately.”

“The demonic creatures have entered the castle, and the soldiers in the outer ward are cut off. We must save them...”

“And get everyone killed? Those who can get out will withdraw first.”

“My lord.”

“Her Highness the Crown Princess ordered us to preserve as much of our fighting strength as possible. I'm merely doing my best to obey.”

“There's no need for that.”

A voice abruptly cut in.

“I'm not completely too late.”

WHOOSH!

A mass of blazing fire, like the sun itself, stained the sky red.

“R-Roselle Charnt!”

“Sorry about that. There were so many monsters that I ended up a little late.”

Roselle Charnt lowered her hand.

The sun fell. The roaring titan swung its enormous axe toward it. Black demonic energy cleaved through space like a storm.

CRACK!

It gouged an enormous scar into the sun. But that was all. A scar was only a scar.

“Stop your pathetic struggling and just fucking die, dear.”

BOOOOOOM!

The sun fell. An explosion erupted. Blazing flames swallowed everything.

No—to be precise, they burned only the demonic creatures and monsters. The count's jaw dropped at a degree of control he could scarcely believe even while watching it firsthand.

“What are you doing?”

“P-pardon?”

“A Great Star has arrived. Why haven't you announced it yet? You've got morale to raise, don't you?”

“O-of course!”

The count nudged a knight who stood gaping and drooling.

“Y-yes!”

The knight sprinted away.

“Lady Roselle Charnt, a Great Star, has arrived! Stand and fight!”

WAAAAAAH!

Where the flames had vanished, only things that had once been monsters remained, reduced to heaps of black ash.

Morale, which had hit rock bottom, rebounded in an instant. Roselle Charnt smiled in satisfaction at the fervent cheers.

“Yes, this is it. We need to wipe them all out like this.”

Roselle advanced, scattering flames.

“I've got a spell that's just perfect for cockroaches like you.”

She chanted an incantation. At that moment, a black flash rippled. Space split apart.

BANG!

A violent impact erupted right in front of Roselle's face.

She looked into the distance.

A demon stood there—a dark elf holding a bow made of bone, without an arrow.

“Don't act so carelessly. You nearly got yourself into serious trouble.”

“Obviously you're supposed to block it for me. Don't talk nonsense.”

“This one is no ordinary opponent.”

“I know. It's obviously a high-ranking demon.”

Roselle gritted her teeth. Ralph Schmitz lowered his shield, having blocked the intangible arrow formed of demonic energy.

“And it's not one. It's several.”

“There are more?”

“Yes. Looks like Lies has run out of patience. If that chocolate-loving master of ours doesn't get here soon, we'll be in real trouble. More and more high-ranking demons are showing up.”

A little later, Ralph sensed them as well.

“... Twelve.”

“All high-ranking demons.”

“... This...”

Might be a little difficult.

“Don't pretend you're weak. They're not Demon Kings, just demons.”

High-ranking demons were indeed weaker than Demon Kings, but they were hardly opponents to dismiss as “just demons.”

Just as the strength of the Stars varied enormously, those lumped together as high-ranking demons also differed greatly in power.

“These are no ordinary opponents.”

“I know.”

The high-ranking demons struck first. Twelve dark elves drew their bowstrings in unison.

TWANG!

Intangible arrows struck through space.

Ralph raised his shield and fortified his aura.

BOOOM!

Ralph's body jolted.

Roselle unleashed the incantation she had been chanting all along.

RUMBLE!

A wave rose—a tidal wave made not of water, but fire.

Heat surged, charging toward the demonic creatures.

At that moment—

CRACK!

A barrier shattered. A sword tip stopped right in front of her face. Roselle snorted.

“What, did you think I'd have no precautions in place?”

The dark elf who had closed in before she knew it withdrew the sword without expression.

That was the beginning.

Ignoring the demonic creatures on the ground, the dark elves rushed the two Stars together.

SCRAAAPE!

Three swords scraped across Ralph's shield at once. As he staggered from the impact, two other dark elves slipped past his flanks and reached Roselle.

CRACK!

Blades of demonic energy shattered her barrier.

SWISH!

Roselle leaned backward. Several strands of hair were sliced away. Her flame-wreathed hands seized the dark elves' wrists.

“Think I'll go down that easily?”

Flames engulfed them. Just as she was about to finish them off, Roselle hurled them away.

The dark elves aiming for her back caught their kin and retreated. That gave her some breathing room.

“Die!”

Like a dragon, she spewed fire—or rather, tried to.

WHIZZ!

There were still more dark elves. The arrows they fired swam through the air like fish, seeking her blind spots.

The flames cut off, and Roselle vanished.

She reappeared about twenty meters away. A dark elf's sword swept toward her as though its wielder had been waiting.

“Dark elves really are a pain!”

Roselle cast Blink again. But dark elves were a race extraordinarily sensitive to the flow of mana and demonic energy. From the ripples in space, they predicted where she would appear.

They sent swords and arrows flying.

A wall of fire burned them away. Spears of flame stabbed at their blind spots, but other dark elves blocked them.

“This is seriously annoying.”

“I doubt we'll settle this easily. Especially with that one over there.”

Ralph looked toward a dark elf who had yet to move.

“That one's their leader.”

“Judging by the way he's posing, yes. One spell would still kill him.”

“The problem is that a spell that powerful takes time, and they won't wait for you—or let it hit them.”

“We should've brought Hillen Cargill!”

“The guildmaster has his hands full defending elsewhere. It's probably just as bad there.”

“Spend less time talking and more time blocking!”

The battle continued.

* * *

The rise in morale lasted only a moment.

The Stars' arrival had given them a brief respite. Thanks to that, Count Pagan had been able to abandon the half-destroyed outer ward and withdraw his troops into the inner ward.

They could hold them off. They could win.

Hope stirred, but only briefly.

Once the dark elves appeared and began tying down the two Stars, the situation returned to much the same state as before.

The tidal wave of monsters and demonic creatures advanced over the ash-covered ground, easily crossing the ruined outer walls. They battered the inner gate.

“What about the mana cannons?”

“Most have been destroyed.”

“They were dwarven-made cannons left by the coalition. We can't make replacements ourselves.”

Most of the mana cannons had been positioned in the outer ward. They had been destroyed along with the partially collapsed walls, leaving the defenders to face the enemy without most of their cannons.

“And the Stars?”

“They won't be able to help us for now.”

“... Should we have simply retreated after all?”

But it was too late now. The Stars had arrived and were fighting. He couldn't abandon them.

Absurd though it sounded, objectively speaking, it would be better for every soldier here to be wiped out than for those two to die.

Even if everyone else died, those two had to survive. To ensure that, they must not flee. They had to give the Stars breathing room until their battle was decided.

Just as he thought that, the inner gate shook violently with a crunch.

Several ogres were pounding on it.

Count Pagan gritted his teeth and took up his sword and shield.

“You take command of the soldiers.”

“My lord?”

“The inner gate is weaker than the outer one. It'll break soon. I'll have to go out and stop them myself.”

“It's dangerous.”

“There is no knight in this castle better than me. Boloi Knights, follow me!”

“As you command!”

The knights, now numbering fewer than twenty, steeled their resolve.

Shields in hand, they stood before the half-shattered gate.

“When the gate breaks, step back. Support us so we aren't pushed back.”

“Yes!”

The soldiers bracing the gate with their bodies nodded.

CRASH!

The gate soon shattered. Soldiers screamed as they were flung away.

ROOOOAR!

An ogre brought down an enormous club.

The count calmly raised his shield.

BANG!

Deflected at an angle, the club struck the ground. He slashed his sword across the ogre's vein-bulging forearm.

ROOOAR!

A scream of pain rang out. The count ducked low and severed the ogre's ankle.

THUD!

It fell. The other knights finished it off.

“Come at me, as many as you like!”

The count roared.

“I won't surrender this castle!”

At least, not until the Stars' battle was decided.

* * *

“Hah, hah...!”

His mouth tasted sickly sweet with exertion. His breathing had grown so ragged that he could no longer control it.

His arms and legs felt heavy enough to tear free. His drained aura core was like a dried-up oasis.

“Hold...on.”

SCRAAAAPE!

He deflected an unidentified demonic creature's claws with his shield and thrust his sword into the exposed opening. Pierced through the heart, the creature collapsed with a grotesque cry. It left no corpse, crumbling straight into dust.

The count raised his sword again.

The corpses of monsters and humans lay mingled around him.

Most of the knights who had followed him had lost their lives. They had met their ends serving an unworthy liege.

BANG!

He smashed his shield into a charging orc and slashed at its neck as it staggered. His sword caught on its neck bone. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed out more strength. With a crunch, the orc fell.

“Damn it...”

CLANG!

Sword struck sword.

His weapon flew from his hand. His hand trembled from the torn muscles.

He hurriedly raised his shield. A staggering impact struck him. Taking a step back to absorb as much of it as possible, he picked up the sword of a knight who had served him.

He ducked. A hammer swept past with a chilling sound. He thrust his sword, ending the life of a nameless low-ranking demon.

“If I'd known it would come to this...!”

He raised his shield against the hammer filling his vision.

BANG!

The count staggered and fell. His overworked shield finally gave out, splitting into dozens of pieces.

He rolled across the ground. A blow struck with a crash, leaving a deep gouge in the earth.

“I should've just retreated!”

He swung his sword from the ground, severing the low-ranking demon's ankle. As it fell, he climbed on top of it and drove his sword in.

“My lord!”

A demonic creature aiming for the count's back died on a spear.

“Thank you, Ken. Are you the only one left?”

“Yes.”

“Then stay beside me and assist me, Ken.”

Ken, the last surviving knight, nodded.

“Pick up a shield and block only the attacks I fail to see.”

“Yes.”

“We've come this far. We ought to defend it somehow, don't you think?”

“I'll follow your lead.”

“By the way, I haven't the strength to lift my head. Has the battle between the Stars and the high-ranking demons ended?”

“... It's still going on. But half or fewer of the dark elves remain.”

“Stars truly are Stars. Killing high-ranking demons so quickly! If they'd killed just a few more, a little faster, I'd have called them suns instead!”

SLASH!

A hellhound collapsed in a spray of blood.

“I don't know if I can hold out much longer.”

“You must!”

“While I still have some strength left, Ken, lead the soldiers in retreat. Save as many troops as possible.”

“No!”

“What do you mean, no? The heroes may be important, but aren't we all living people too? I don't think I'm suited to command. I simply can't tell the soldiers to die for those two.”

It happened at that moment. An unknown power surged from his heart.

“M-my lord.”

“What is it?”

“Your body is glowing...”

“Glowing?”

It truly was. Count Pagan gave a disbelieving laugh. Everyone living in Arain knew what this phenomenon meant.

Most awakened before their twenties, but people who awakened later in life were not entirely unheard of.

“Awakening as a hero at my age, in this situation. This is madness.”

“Congratulations!”

“Congratulations, my ass. We're all about to fucking die.”

The count swung his sword irritably. The result was greater than he expected.

SLASH!

An ogre charging with an enormous club split in half. So did the demonic creature following it.

“Huh?”

“Does awakening as a hero normally do this...?”

They said it varied from hero to hero, but...

“Who gives a damn! You're all fucking dead!”

The count roared.

At that moment—

BOOM!

An explosion erupted right before him. A minotaur was blown to pieces.

“... Uh.”

“Was that your doing...?”

“I don't have a knack for firing bombs from my hands.”

Above. Something had fallen from above.

BOOM!

One.

BOOOM!

Two.

BOOOOM!

Dozens, hundreds.

BOOOOOOM!

Thousands, tens of thousands.

They were bombs.

A rain of shells, each one turning into hundreds more.

The demonic creatures screamed. Everywhere outside the castle was filled with explosions and smoke.

“Good heavens, did we still have mana cannons left?”

“It's not coming from the walls!”

“Reinforcements, then?”

“My lord!”

“Why are you shouting? You're hurting my ears.”

“Th-the sky...!”

The knight, Ken, pointed upward with a trembling hand.

“Look at the sky!”

“The sky?”

The count raised his head.

“What on earth is in the sky that's got you so worked up...?”

A shadow fell over them.

“Fucking hell...!”

It was immense.

Massive, lofty, and majestic.

“A t-tower...?”

It was a tower.

An enormous tower was flying through the sky.

Was he dreaming?

He pinched his cheek. It hurt.

He rubbed his eyes. It still didn't disappear.

“K-Ken?”

“Y-yes, my lord.”

“Can you see it too?”

“I-I can!”

“So my eyes haven't been fucked up by a stray goblin arrow?”

Good heavens.

“A flying tower... And it's bombarding the demonic creatures with mana cannons...”

Count Pagan grabbed Ken by the shoulders and shook him.

“That's impossible! This makes no sense!”

“Why are you taking it out on me? I don't understand either!”

“Why is that thing floating above the castle? And those aren't magic rounds made of mana—they're demonic energy! Shells made of demonic energy! What if that bombardment falls on us? We'll all die!”

“I'm telling you, stop asking me!”

“How dare a mere knight talk back to a count!”

“With that thing over our heads, do you really think this is the time for that?”

“... You have a point.”

The count rubbed his eyes once again.

Still, the tower did not disappear.

Instead, it displayed its magnificent form in ever clearer detail. For an instant, he thought it looked impressive.

“Ken.”

“Yes.”

“You can still see it too, right?”

“... I can. How can something like that possibly exist?”

“It's simple.”